FEMA Records
22
Above median
Texas · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Wise County, TX
22 FEMA disaster declarations (1982-2021), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 22
- FEMA declarations
- 12
- Major disasters
- 59
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Wise County. Its 22 FEMA declarations are 5% above the Texas county mean and exceed the count for 57% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 41%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 41%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 22
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 94
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 48497 · Wise County 22 declarations · rank 1319/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 22
- MAJOR-MID 55%
- RANK-LOWER #1,319
- PHOTO-FINISH Hardy
- NRI-LOW 59
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-ABOVE +5%
Nearest declaration peer: Hardy, WV (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Texas state profile
Wise County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among Wise County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Hardy · near 22
Hardy · near
22 declarations
- Prairie · near 22
Prairie · near
22 declarations
- St. Francis · near 22
St. Francis · near
22 declarations
- Wise · this county 22
Wise · this county
22 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Wise County carries 22 FEMA declaration records, ranked 1319 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How Wise County's FEMA declaration count compares nationally
Wise County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Wise County
22 Top 43% higher than 57% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25
Wise County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Wise County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $8.9M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Wildfire carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Wise County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 94 paid claims, totaling $2.5M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $26.6K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Wise County's 22 federal records stand 5% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 59.0/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Relatively Low (roughly $20.3M in annualized losses), and a Relatively Low social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Wildfire carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 186 years here.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Wise County, TX · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) High
16/30
22 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.1x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
22 declarations (1.1x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
12 of 22 declarations are major disasters (55%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Wise County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Wise County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
55%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
59
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Wise County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 186 years |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | an average of 9.9 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 15 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | an average of 1.8 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | an average of 4 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,304 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 32 modeled event-days per year |
| Hurricane | Very Low | roughly once every 104 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 5.3 times per year |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 52 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 6
Severe Storm 5
Hurricane 4
Severe Ice Storm 2
Biological 2
Flood 2
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Wise County's record, 27% of its declarations. Wildfire is the one hazard here with its own dedicated federal instrument: the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which appears in this data as an FM record. An FMAG can be authorised while a fire is still burning, on a timescale of hours, because its purpose is to reimburse the cost of fighting a fire that threatens to become a major disaster.
That distinction matters when comparing counties. An FM declaration is not a presidential major disaster declaration and does not carry the same assistance programmes, so a fire-heavy county's total is not directly comparable with a hurricane-heavy county's total unless the declaration types are separated, which is why they are listed separately on this page.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 12 54.5%
of all 22 declarations
Emergency - 9 40.9%
of all 22 declarations
Fire Management - 1 4.5%
of all 22 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | |
Show 2 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 22 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 22 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4586 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-19 |
| 3554 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2021-02-14 |
| 4485 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3458 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4223 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2015-05-29 |
| 4029 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2011-09-09 |
| 3294 | HURRICANE IKE | EM | Hurricane | 2008-09-10 |
| 3284 | WILDFIRES | EM | Fire | 2008-03-14 |
| 1709 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-06-29 |
| 1624 | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR | Fire | 2006-01-11 |
| 1606 | HURRICANE RITA | DR | Hurricane | 2005-09-24 |
| 3261 | HURRICANE RITA | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-21 |
| 3216 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-02 |
| 2289 | SADDLEBACK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2000-01-03 |
| 3142 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS | EM | Fire | 1999-09-01 |
| 1239 | TROPICAL STORM CHARLEY | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-08-26 |
| 3117 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Fire | 1996-02-23 |
| 3113 | EXTREME FIRE HAZARD | EM | Drought | 1993-09-10 |
| 930 | SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS | DR | Flood | 1991-12-26 |
| 863 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1990-05-02 |
Show 2 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 828 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1989-05-19 |
| 648 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1981-10-23 |
Storm Events in Texas
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Wise County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 14,072 | 0 | 15 | $7.4B |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 10,293 | 41 | 141 | $369.9M |
| Drought | 7,032 | 0 | 0 | $86.0K |
| Flash Flood | 4,728 | 338 | 24 | $47.6B |
| Heat | 4,079 | 119 | 405 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
94
Total Paid
$2.5M
Avg Per Claim
$26.6K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 59.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Low
$20.3M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Hail Relatively Moderate
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Landslide Very Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Strong Wind Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Hurricane Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Lightning Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
For Wise County the two measures on this page point the same way: Wildfire is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively Moderate), and Fire declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Wise County's closest FEMA peer: Lee County, AL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Wise County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Wise County shows 22 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Wise County: 12 of 22 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Wise County: NRI composite 59.0 (Relatively Low).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Wise County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Wise County: nearest out-of-state National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar NRI composite
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA NRI score. This county: 59.0 (Relatively Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 22. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Wise County's NFIP claims file (94 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Wise County?
The most common disaster type in Wise County is Fire, with 6 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (5), Hurricane (4), Severe Ice Storm (2).
How does Wise County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Texas average?
FEMA lists 22 declaration records for Wise County. That is 5% above the Texas county mean of 20.9. Its count is also 6% above the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Wise County received?
Wise County has received 12 major disaster declarations, representing 55% of all 22 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Wise County filed?
Wise County has 94 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $2.5M in payments, with an average of $26.6K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Wise County?
No. In Wise County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $8.9M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Wise County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Wise County was 2005, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1982 to 2021.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Wise County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Wise County, Texas has an overall risk score of 59.0 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Low, representing $20.3M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Wise County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Wise County as of the latest release is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Hail (Relatively Moderate) and Heat Wave (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 186 years. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, exposed assets, and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Wise County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Texas profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events